Body and Soul

Jesus said, Woe to the flesh that depends on the soul; woe to the soul that depends on the flesh. (112)

“Flesh” means the physical body, the sarx; and “soul” means the subtle energy body or bodies, the psyche. The flesh cannot depend on the soul because they are intertwined, being formed of energy, and sharing the same weaknesses and defects. And for the same reason the soul, especially the mind, cannot depend on the body because it is trapped in the body and continually subject to its changes and conditions.

What Jesus is implying is that both flesh and body need the spirit, the pneuma, because it alone is immortal and its nature is consciousness. Just as God projects the creation out of his own unchanging Consciousness, in the same way the bodies, including the physical body, have emanated from the individual spirit. Therefore both flesh and soul must be aligned or attuned to the spirit and eventually absorbed into the spirit which is their goal. Until then, through spiritual practice, especially meditation, both flesh and soul must be always oriented to the spirit which is itself part of the Divine.

About OCOY.org

This site presents the path of meditation and practical spiritual life and is a service of Light of the Spirit Monastery (Atma Jyoti Ashram), which is located in Cedar Crest, New Mexico, USA.

Dedication of OCOY.org

This site is inspired by and dedicated to Paramhansa Yogananda, who introduced yoga meditation and the goal of self realization to the American people, and whose writings reveal the underlying unity of original Christianity and original Yoga.